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Via Appia "Regina Viarum"
Italy
Date of Submission: 01/06/2006
Criteria: (i)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)
Category: Cultural
Submitted by:
Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activies
State, Province or Region:
Regions: Lazio, Campania, Basilicata, Puglia
Provinces: Roma, Latina, Caserta, Benevento, Potenza, Matera, Taranto, Brindisi
Ref.: 349
Themes
Cultural landscapes
Description
Via Appia is the first and most important of the great roads built by the Ancient Romans and is, therefore, also known
as "regina viarum". It was built towards the end of the IV century BC, in 312, to ensure swift and direct communication
between Rome and Capua. According to the Roman historian Livy, it was built by the censor Appius Claudius
Caecus and named after him.
The project reveals a surprisingly modern conception: by-passing all intermediate towns, the road is aimed straight at
its goal. Outstanding feats of engineering, bridges, viaducts, galleries, ensured an unwaveringly straight course,
across expanses of water, swamps and mountains; many of these works are practicable to this day.
Via Appia also provides evidence as to the revolution in road construction brought about by the Romans. Till then,
roads were little more than dirt tracks that became impracticable for wheeled vehicles at every rainfall. The Romans
conceived specific road beds, for stability and drainage, that were paved with close-fitting slabs of dressed basalt,
thus ensuring viability in all weather conditions. This enabled them to build a vast network - state roads alone covered
over 120,000 km - that remained intact for centuries and is still the backbone of the road systems of all the countries
in the Mediterranean area.
Also the legal status of these roads is truly innovative. The Persians and the Egyptians had built roads, but the
Romans went further, they built a widespread and structured road network which, unlike earlier roads, was not
reserved for the travel of kings or of their armies; it was a public, toll-free, system destined to serve the rural and
urban population. All the roads had sidewalks and milestones indicating the main distances and to further facilitate
travel, there were post stations at regular intervals providing change of horses and accommodation. This highly
efficient road system was used by the cursus publicus, the Roman postal service, to deliver the post in all the
Empire's provinces and, more importantly, for the exchange of messages between the provinces and the Empire's
capital city.
For the first 90 km Via Appia ran straight from Rome to Terracina and was flanked, for the last 28 km, by a canal
collecting waters of the reclamation works; travellers could then change to boats instead of travelling in wagons or on
horseback. After Terracina, the road swerved towards Fondi, across the towering gorges of Itri and then down to
Formia, Minturno and Sinuessa (now, Mondragone); from there straight again towards Casilinum (modern Capua), on
the river Volturno and then on to the ancient town of Capua (today, S. Maria Capua Vetere).
Via Appia was extended several times, as the Empire conquered the south of Italy; first up to Benevento, just after
268 BC, then across the Apennine Mountains up to Venosa and again up to Taranto. Finally, in the II century BC, it
reached Brindisi, the main harbour for ships bound for Greece and the East. Over the years, the original course from
Benevento to Brindisi was gradually substituted by a shorter, easier route across the region of Puglia until, at the
beginning of the II century AD, the Emperor Trajanus turned this into a real alternative itinerary and gave it his name.
The new Via Appia Traiana allowed travellers to go from Rome to Brindisi in 13-14 days covering a total of 365
miles, just under 540 km.
Thanks to constant maintenance, Via Appia, remained perfectly efficient for several centuries, until the Middle Ages,
when the road went through a period of regression and abandon. In the XIV century, it became once again the main
route of access to the South of Italy. Fully restored by the Popes and the Kings of Naples, the road was included by
Napoleon among the routes he considered essential for his political and military activities. Via Appia is important in
the history of architectural restoration for the many works aimed at reclaiming and restoring it, undertaken as of the
XVI century.
Statements of authenticity and/or integrity
For centuries, private citizens and illustrious personalities alike have been actively involved in
the conservation and protection of Via Appia, which was certainly influenced also by the need to
maintain the road in efficiency. Particularly important restoration works were performed at the
beginning of the XIX century involving the more qualified artists and architects of the time.
These works, carried out with a remarkably modern outlook and great scientific accuracy, gave
rise to a proposal for a vast monumental park comprising Via Appia's entire course, from Rome
to Brindisi. Although the project was never implemented and despite the absence of a general
plan, the importance of the road itself and of its monuments was generally acknowledged so that
its conservation is now assured through a number of restrictive measures, in accordance with the
national legislation concerning cultural heritage, and through a number of parks created on large
stretches of the road's course.
Comparison with other similar properties
Via Appia outranges all the other Roman viae publicae because of its excellent state of
conservation: the entire course, both the first tracing and the alternative itinerary built by
Trajanus, are clearly identifiable, and so are the innumerable monuments and complexes that
were built, in the course of several centuries, alongside the road itself. Furthermore, Via
Appia plays an unique role in the framework of the Roman road network in that it induced the
development of sites, ideas, works, testimonies and memories which, in the course of over 2300
years of history, formed a complex cultural environment, universally recognized as such by
European and American writers, painters, poets and travellers who were undeniably marked by
Via Appia and the adjacent territory areas.